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HILTON AUSTIN EXECUTIVE CHEF MARK DAYANANDAN

NEW ORLEANS - Hilton Austin's world-renowned Executive Chef Mark Dayanandan has been named Hilton Hotels Corporation's number one chef, winning the Diamond Chef Award in a competition with two other  finalists at the corporation's General Managers' conference in New Orleans.
"This is a great honor and I couldn't be more pleased," Chef Dayanandan said. "Great food and beautiful presentations are  the result of great inspiration among my staff. We inspire each other to do our best, which ultimately results in the delight of our restaurant and banquet guests."
Chef Dayanandan was assisted in  the competition by Chef's David Miller and Arturo Robles. He oversees more than 50 chefs preparing dishes for Hilton Austin's fine dining restaurant, Finn & Porter; the all-day restaurant, Liberty Tavern; the coffee and pastry shop, Java Jive on 5th; and up to 1,800 guests attending a banquet.
Hilton's Diamond Chef competition began several months ago when dozens of Hilton's top chefs were asked to prepare meals for a local panel of diners. The preparation, presentation, diner reactions and chef's commentary were videotaped and judged by a Hilton corporate panel. Three finalists were chosen to prepare meals for the corporation's General Managers' conference in New Orleans. The first competition was a recreation of the dishes each chef prepared for their respective local panels. Chef Dayanandan won first place. The second competition was an impromptu meal in which the chefs were on stage and surprised with randomly-selected ingredients and asked to prepare a tasty dish within 45 minutes.
Chef Dayanandan's surprise ingredients included jumbo prawns. The final result was vanilla and butter poached prawns on a smoked tomato sauce, plus feta cheese and potato beignets drizzled with basil syrup. He won first place again.
The three competitors in the event were Chef Dayanandan, Chef Ravi Nage of the Hilton Baltimore BWI and Chef Jan Osipowicz of the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador.
During his 29 years in the kitchen, Chef Dayanandan has prepared meals for four Presidents, the Royal Family, including the late Princess Diana and numerous celebrity events, such as the Grammy Awards after party, the Friar's Club Roast and Stevie Wonder's birthday party. In addition, for the past six years he has been the resident critic for the Les Amis d'Escoffier Society of New York,  a gourmet dining club that invites the best chefs in New York City, and occasionally from around the world, to prepare dishes for their annual scholarship fundraisers. The repeated invitations to critique the dishes of top chefs are an additional testament to his recognized culinary skills. Chef Dayanandan has worked in his home country of England, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Canada and the U.S. His background is in large, first-class establishments and he emphasizes developing diversity in his culinary skills.
The Hilton Austin, located at 500 East 4th Street, and adjacent to the Austin Convention Center, features the Finn & Porter, an upscale steak, seafood and sushi restaurant; the Liberty Tavern, a classic American grill; and Java Jive on 5th, a premium coffee and pastries outlet. To  find out more about the Hilton Austin, please visit the website at www.austin.hilton.com.